The Minority Caucus in Parliament has raised sharp constitutional objections to the 20-year prison sentence handed down to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, describing the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay at the High Court in Accra, Chairman Wontumi and his firm, Akonta Mining Limited, were convicted on two counts each under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended.

However, in a press statement issued on Monday, 20 July 2026, and signed by Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Caucus alleged procedural irregularities and selective prosecution, vowing to test the decision at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Denial of counsel, comparison with Tsatsu Tsikata case

A primary grievance raised by the Minority is the trial court's decision to deliver judgment in the absence of Wontumi’s lead counsel, who had formally notified the court of a pre-existing professional commitment outside the jurisdiction.

The caucus argued that proceeding to sentence the accused without his chosen defense representation infringed upon Article 19(2)(g) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees an accused person the right to be defended by a lawyer of their own choice.

Drawing historical parallels, the Minority referenced the landmark case of Tsatsu Tsikata, whose 2008 conviction was eventually overturned by the Court of Appeal on 30 November 2016. The appellate court ruled that the trial judge's decision to proceed while higher court questions remained unresolved constituted a miscarriage of justice.

"If the right to counsel of choice mattered in 2003, it matters in 2026, and it matters exactly as much when the accused sits on the other side of the political aisle," the statement emphasized.

Constitutional referral refusal

The Minority further faulted Justice Kocuvie-Tay for refusing the defense team's application to refer constitutional interpretation questions regarding Section 99(2)(b) of Act 703 to the Supreme Court under Article 130.

Relying on the precedent set in Republic v. The High Court, General Jurisdiction 6, Accra; Ex Parte Dr. Zanetor A. Rawlings (2016), the caucus insisted that a lower court judge errs by deciding that a statutory provision is "clear and unambiguous" to avoid referring it, as interpreting the Constitution remains the exclusive purview of the apex court.

The statement added that lifting Akonta Mining Limited's corporate veil to hold Wontumi personally liable represented an exceptional legal remedy that required closer appellate scrutiny.

Allegations of selective justice

While reiterating its support for the national fight against illegal mining (galamsey), the Minority accused state prosecutors of applying a double standard based on political affiliation.

They questioned the lack of prosecutorial progress regarding an investigation ordered on 15 July 2025 by Attorney-General Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine into National Organiser Joseph Yamin and National Vice Chairman Yakubu Abanga over alleged galamsey activities.

The caucus also cited an unprosecuted takeover of a licensed concession at Apinto involving foreign nationals, contrasting those delays with the swift trial and heavy custodial sentence handed to the opposition regional chairman.

Calls for transparency and appeal

The Minority Caucus concluded by demanding that the Office of the Attorney-General publish its full enforcement record on illegal mining across the political spectrum.

Urging Wontumi's legal team to pursue certiorari and appellate remedies, the caucus assured NPP members in the Ashanti Region and across the diaspora of their commitment to challenging the conviction through all constitutional channels.